


Here There Be Dragons

by BlossomingRosebud



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: ...mostly, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Bonding, Choices, Family, Gen, Hargreeves get along, Loss, People make bad choices, Team as Family, The world is a mess but you don't have to be, Trauma, War, sibling antics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-27 01:32:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18728992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlossomingRosebud/pseuds/BlossomingRosebud
Summary: They weren't family, but growing up in the same castle together, it was as if they were.  Some grew up with more than others.  Most had lost people--parents and relatives to the war, or to the famine, or to something else in the world.  It was okay, though, because they had each other.  Or, they did, until they grew up.  Now their destiny is, quite literally, to fight their parents' wars, but even destiny can be avoided with just the right dose of crazy ideas.  Turns out, they might just have a few of those.An AU with the characters of Umbrella Academy in the world of the Dragon Prince.  Some people get it in their head to carry a certain egg back home to its mama.  Others are a little more bent on stopping them.





	Here There Be Dragons

It did not take long for Vanya to realize it was impossible to break free from the noise.

Her feet flew across the stone-clad castle tower bridge, far from the ground below, the full autumn moon the only thing left to light her path.  Her arm rang like fire, the blood smeared and still dripping from where the arrow shot her.  And inside, she screamed.  She still heard them.  Cries of pain and cries of war, rush of arrows and clanging of swords.  She thought she could forget it.  Now she remembered everything.  Like a dark symphony, it sounded like—like a nightmare.  A dream.  Oh it had to be a dream.  _It had to be a…_

THUD!

Her mind was unaware of her feet’s direction until she ran inside and slammed the door shut.  _Escape.  Live.  She had to get out.  She didn’t want to die._   Vanya barred the door of the small tower room behind her, but that small security offered little comfort.  Dirty sweat etched across her face.  They were here.  And they were coming for her.  She didn’t know why, but she didn’t need to know.  All she knew was that elf assassins were here, in this place she was supposed to call home.  And there was nothing she could do.

_“Sound the alarm!  We’re under attack!  Protect the king and prince!”_

She was alone.  At the call, all the fighting people jumped to action.  All the ordinary people cried in terror.  She was an ordinary person.  She couldn’t fight.  She couldn’t do magic.  She was useless, in just about everything she ever tried.  _Just like last time_.  No, no.  She couldn’t remember that.  She couldn’t.  Not the battle she was left to watch.  Not the valley bathed in fire.  Not her in the medic tent, fighting hard to keep her hand steady as she cleaned the gash across Klaus’s chest, watching his dead eyes stare into space as he asked where Dave was, and not only did she not know who he was or where, she could she not bring herself to tell him that Ben was gone, too. 

She shook her head violently, forcing the memories away.  She wasn’t on the battlefield.  She was just alone, standing here—breathing, not breathing, hands pressed against the door.  But she could hear the fighting.  It was only after a moment, she realized, that she had trapped herself.  This room was a dead end.  If she went just outside, she could run down the stairs and maybe make it to the tunnels, but she didn’t dare.  Surely, she would be seen.  Perhaps…she should just wait.  She knew it was only a matter of time, but maybe it was for the best.  Once she was dead, at least it would be over with.  What would happen afterwards?  Would she see Ben and Five again?  She did miss them.  It hasn’t been the same, since then.  But fate might be inevitable.  And the others…they were still out there.  She felt a small pang of guilt for not thinking of their present fates sooner.  Allison was out there somewhere, Luther and Diego and Klaus too…probably fighting the elfin invaders, heeding the captain’s call.  But they were strong.  They would be fine.  They didn’t need her.  At least, after today, they wouldn’t have to worry about her anymore.  She took a breath, trying to take comfort in that idea.  Accept it, _accept…._ and yet, her hands still trembled.  She was too weak to keep still.  She didn’t want to…

SNAP!  BANG!

The door flew open, the bar broken and splintered as a deftly wielded sword cut its way through.  A figure appeared in the open doorway, its almost translucent form looming, blades drawn.  Vanya yelped in spite of herself, back drawn to the wall in feeble attempt to hide.  But she wouldn’t hide.  She wouldn’t run, either.  Her heart just couldn’t stand dragging this out.  Have it done with.  If they wanted her, they could have her.  Her body trembled and her eyes finally clenched shut, but she said not a word as the assassin drew nearer…

“Hrrrrnnngh!”

She heard the sound of a body drop to the floor.  But it wasn’t her own.  Vanya’s eyes shot open, and they stared open in surprise at yet a second figure standing before her.  He was visible, unlike the other, but heavily shrouded in black, even his face entirely covered except for the eyes.  Still, his right hand held the distinctive sword of an elf assassin.  In his left was a dagger, now dripping in blood matching the elf’s by his feet.

Vanya held her breath and waited for those seconds that his sword still hung ready in the air.  Who _was_ he?  If he was one of the assassins…why stab his comrade?  Did he want to kill her himself?

He paused for a moment while Vanya stood immobilized.  Then his sword lowered.  His dagger he sheathed.  And with his free hand, he pulled down the cloth masking the front of his face.

Vanya’s breath caught, stumbling over words unformed until she finally could speak.  There was no mistaking it.  It had been ten years, and his face was discolored along the edges in a way she didn’t remember, but even so, just with a good look at his eyes, there was no mistaking it.  She just didn’t know how it was possible.

“Five?”

“We have to move.”  He left no time for reunions, rather, just abruptly taking her hand and running out the door.  He stopped to make sure the hallway was clear, and then whisked her down the steps, down the way that he—just as much as she did—knew very, very well.  This was the way to the tunnels.  Vanya’s feet moved, but her mind could hardly keep up.  This was like a dream, almost as if she was already dead, and being whisked away to safety was nothing but an illusion.  This couldn’t be real.  Five…she hoped, for so long, that he was alive.  She searched that river up and down where they were told he had drowned, but a body was never found.  They all searched, and one by one, they all stopped.  But if he was really here…then why?

The tunnels were cold and isolated, the sounds of fighting in the world up above muted almost thoroughly.  Vanya allowed herself to breathe.  She turned to her old friend who seemed to be glaring through the walls.  “Five…”

“Stop!  I need to concentrate.”  He held up his hand in her face as he stepped around full circle, eyes narrowed in frustration.  “From this entrance…we should be near the central storage room.  Secluded, but only one exit point.  The library would be a far better location, but if I remember right, it’s on the other end of the castle.  With any luck, we won’t be followed, but I doubt…”

“Five!”  Vanya stepped in front of him, aiming, somehow, to get his attention.  He was so focused…at least she knew that part of him hadn’t changed all that much.  “Why are you…?”

“Vanya!”

Suddenly, a different voice echoed throughout the corridor.

“Hey, so maybe, if we whistle, she’ll hear us better!  Should I try a low tone, or…”

Vanya’s heart jumped.  _Diego and Klaus!_   But…they were looking for her?  Her first reaction was one of relief, but then, it was quickly replaced by an intense panic.  Five had his mask back on.  He had his sword and dagger back out, staring intently at the ready in the hallway.  He wouldn’t know it was them, at least not by voice, anyways.  Puberty has happened since then.  And all Diego and Klaus were about to see was her bloody and tattered self with a man dressed like an assassin…Klaus might ask questions, but Diego certainly wouldn’t. 

They rounded the corner and the two pairs locked eyes.  Diego ran forward, and so did Vanya. 

“WAIT!”

In an instant she was in between the three boys, hands outstretched to hold them at bay.  Diego appeared wide-eyed and intensely confused, knives waiting anxiously in both of his hands, and Klaus freezing just behind him.  Five was standing in a wide, action-ready stance, muscles tense and his sword just in front of his face.

“Van—” Diego started to speak, but Vanya blurted her piece out as fast as possible.

“Don’t hurt him!  He rescued me!  It’s _Five_!”

Vanya finished with a sharp breath, hoping that Five, too, would realize who they were and stand down.

“What!?” Diego didn’t stand down.  He just stared at her like she was crazy.  But then, behind her, Five straightened up.  He quickly pulled down his mask.

The two boys gasped simultaneously, eyes wide and locked in various states of disbelief.

Klaus blinked rapidly.  “Whoa, dang, that can’t be…?”

“Elves can be master illusionists,” Diego cut him off quickly, shaking his head slowly.  “Vanya, there’s no way…”

“Yeah, wonderful, great to see you too!” Five rolled his eyes dramatically as his hand pointedly gestured down the corridor.  “Can we _go_ now?  Any second now assassins could follow us down here, and they _won’t_ hesitate to kill Vanya!  We need to find a secure location!”

Diego appeared hesitant, for a moment, but then answered with a terse nod.  In seconds they were all running again.  Vanya didn’t even know where.  She followed the rest of them.

“Arrgh!  Where did this wall come from!?” Five stopped to gesture angrily at the structure.

Klaus stopped behind him and panted.  “Yeah, they’ve done a bit or remodeling since you left…”

“What?  That’s stupid!  It’s an ancient castle!”

“I have an idea,” Diego offered in all seriousness, not waiting for an answer before backtracking and making a right turn.  The rest of them followed.

A few hallways later took them to a door.  Vanya squinted at it, wondering if she might recognize this spot, but really, she didn’t know.  She hadn’t been down here in a long time.

“Dad’s lab,” Diego introduced, eyes taking on the ornate stone-laden barrier with a distinctive tone of contempt.

Five’s expression was less than impressed.  “Why?”  He cut his eyes in Diego’s direction.

“No one will be there, that’s why,” Diego answered pointedly.  “It’s secluded, there’s just two exits, and maybe, who knows, there could be something useful.  Okay?”

Klaus tilted his head at it unenthusiastically.  “Yeah, great, ummm…but isn’t this place unlocked with some kind of magic, voodoo something…?”

“Yep.”  Diego acknowledged briefly before whipping out his knife again and promptly stabbing it.  In the spot where there could have been a keyhole if life was easier, a bit of gravel fell.

Five stared at the sight in disbelief.  “ _What_ are you doing?”

“Shut up, I’m opening it.  It worked before.  It opens from the inside, but it’s doable to…make a hole…”

“Yeah, whatever, I got this.”  Five shrugged, and then, right before everyone’s eyes, disappeared.

Vanya’s sudden of panic was brief when the door ever so nicely swung open, revealing Five at the other side.  His three old friends stared dumbfounded, Klaus the first to speak.

“Whoa, since when could you…?”

“Just, come inside!” Five waved them in impatiently.  Soon, they were in the lab and the door was closed, offering the four of them a moment of respite.  Vanya allowed herself to breathe.  She was here.  She couldn’t quite believe it; she was…still alive?  She looked up at the three boys.  Diego and Klaus were dressed with their weapons and armor; Five still looked almost like an elfin assassin.  They just didn’t wear black quite like that.  She noticed he looked distinctly uncomfortable now, facing the dark walls of the lab, in a way he hadn’t when they were running, or even when he killed a man.  _Five’s back_.  She had so many questions.  Her head just rang too much to offer any real clue on where to begin.

“Okay Five, _what_ happened?” Diego spoke up first in a question that sounded like a demand.  Five seemed to pointedly avert his eyes from the wall of vials and creepy specimens, facing the three of them instead.

“Wow, you believe it’s me, now?” Five remarked dryly with a slight smirk that quickly vanished as he began his piece.  “I came because they were after Vanya.  That big show up there?  That was a _revenge_ mission.  ‘The king and all of his blood’ or some crap like that.  Unsurprisingly, they hate what happened to the Dragon Egg.  So _that’s_ their retribution.  The king, Prince Konan, and Vanya.  Your security is useless, by the way.”

Vanya made no motion at the words, but they burrowed deep, all the same.  Of course… _that’s_ what this was about.  All she could think about was running, and then dying, but she couldn’t answer the question why.  She forgot so often, it felt surprising that they should know.  She was the king’s daughter.  She wasn’t…favored, in any way, shape, or form.  Born to his mistress on the side before she died, Vanya was an illegitimate child, and everyone was certain to remind her of that.  She had no privilege, or any attention.  Most of the time, she was just there.  Maybe helping out the maids, or maybe just being fed and doing nothing.  Maybe on the roof all alone, with nothing but an old violin for company.  She knew she was lucky to have her friends, though, even if over the past few years, their duties and their squabbles have pulled them apart.  Or, really, ever since the Battle of South Pass…that was the day the humans destroyed the Dragon Egg.  But Vanya only remembers it as the day they lost Ben.

She stared back at Five and breathed.  She remembered being close to him, before he left a decade ago.  Sneaking books out of the library, hanging out on the rooftop—he would talk, and she would follow only about half of what he was saying, but it was okay.  He never judged her, for what she was.  He didn’t care, really.

She should do the same for him now, as perplexing as his appearance might be.  She looked up.  “How did you know?” she asked.

“I joined the raid, of course,” Five explained flippantly.  “Came on as a mercenary.  It was the best way to get to you.”

“What?  Hold up,” Diego interrupted.  “You just… _came on_?  Why the heck would elves hire a human?”

For a moment, Five paused.  The three of them waited with growing anticipation.  Then, finally, he sighed, and as an answer, finally took his hood off. 

Vanya gasped.  She regretted it, right afterwards, but what else could she do?  They were _all_ staring at him.  She just…couldn’t believe it…

“Whoa, Five, since when were you an elf?” Klaus became the first to break the ice, although from Five, that only earned him a groan.

“I’m _half-_ elf, genius,” he droned as he set his wrappings aside.  All he did was expose his face to them, before…but now, it was all clear, and all three sets of eyes became fixated on the tell-tale sign.  His ears.  She knew, for a fact, that they were totally normal before—rounded, like a human’s.  Now they came up to a point, just like an elf’s.  “The… _features_ didn’t happen until later.”

Vanya stared in silence as the gears in her mind turned.  _How?_   He was half-elf?  She…she knew his father was never around, but…was this why…?

“So that’s it, huh?”  Diego shook his head with a short, bitter laugh, saying something on the lines of what they were unfortunately thinking.  “That’s the story?  _This_ happened, and then you left?  We searched that river…”

“For weeks _, I know_ ,” Five interrupted acridly, leaving no time for their speculations.  Having gained the focus of his attention, he pointed a finger close to Diego’s chest.  “You think I just left because I _wanted_ to!?  The only reason I went was because your father tried to _kill_ me!”

He…what?  All the thoughts in Vanya’s head fell dead in their tracks.  And from the looks on their faces, it was the same for Klaus and Diego.  But…no.  There was no way.  Hargreeves was a lot of things, but surely, he wouldn’t…

From the look on Five’s face, their reaction did not go unnoticed.  “Ever thought it was a strange coincidence that my mom died of a heart attack just a few days after I ‘drowned’?  At least, luckily for me, Hargreeves likes to play with his food.  He and his people kidnapped me in the middle of the night and brought me to the dungeon…down _here_.” He glanced again at the walls of the dark lab room, and once again, Vanya realized his discomfort.  It hadn’t even been her idea, but suddenly, she felt guilty for bringing him here.  Was it bringing back bad memories?  But if it did, he really didn’t say so.

“I didn’t know about the elf thing then.  Apparently, they somehow found out and tried to cover it up.  However, I figured out through the experiments a vague idea of what was going on, and through a connection to the Moon arcana, figured out how to jump after about a week.  When I got out, I ran.  Kept going until I left the kingdom.”

Vanya’s throat went dry in that moment.  This was too much, all at once.  She was shocked at what happened, but she was perhaps even more shocked to realize that she believed every word of it.  Five would never lie to them, and she knew this had to be him.  But…what were they even supposed to say to that?  And was it supposed to be a problem, now, that Five shared half a bloodline with their sworn enemies?  Perhaps, technically, it should be.  But she didn’t want it to be.  She didn’t want to lose him, not over something like this…

_“I don’t know; this doesn’t feel right.  It’s a revenge war; what’s the purpose…?”_

She stared at her old friend and the pain hidden behind his eyes directed somewhere to the distance.  Once again, she was helpless to do anything about it.  “What happened after that?” Her voice came out small, stunned to little more than a whisper.

“I became a mercenary,” Five explained flippantly, the anger behind his words apparently past.  “After a while, it became easier to pass as an elf, although I generally had to sell the story that my height was slightly stunted.  I masked myself most of the time to keep them from noticing too much, which admittedly raised some flags, but when you do a good enough job, people will overlook that.”

Vanya wasn’t sure she wanted to ask what exactly he did with ‘mercenary’ as a job title.  But it didn’t matter now.  She looked again instinctively towards the roof and heard nothing.  With any luck, they might actually be safe down here, left to this reunion… _Luther and Allison!_   Wait, they must still be up there, right?  She hoped they were okay.  They needed to know about Five…would they be able to see him?  She realized, suddenly, that he wouldn’t be able to stay.  He would have to leave again after tonight.  Couldn’t there possibly be any way around that?  But she didn’t know of one.  At least now they knew.  She just hated to leave him to a life like this…

“I’m going to kill him.”

Vanya was jerked from her thoughts at the sound of Diego’s voice, looking to see him shaking his head at the ground with his mouth in a firm set line.  At first, she was confused as to what the heck he was going at, until she realized he was still on the first thing.  His dad.

“He’s told us so many lies before, but _this_?  This is low.  I’m going to talk to him.”

“WHOA!  Wait wait wait…” Klaus spun into action, jumping in front of Diego as if he was going to march up there right here and now.  (Well, then again, he actually _might_ ).  “Your dad’s crazy, we know!  He used to test transmutation magic on me as a kid!  So maybe, we should think a moment _before_ we let the murderous maniac know that you know his big dark secret, ‘kay?”

Diego gave Klaus a confused glance.  “Wait, he did _what_ to you…?”

“Heh, that’s assuming he only has the one secret,” Five remarked.

Diego’s attention turned back to him.  “You know something else?”

“Not yet.” He smiled suggestively.

“Well…” Vanya cut in, blinking a few times to try to process.  “What are we supposed to do, then?”

Klaus shrugged.  “Hmm, I don’t know.  We’re in his room right now.  We could break his toys!” He gave a short clap of glee.  “Or maybe paint on the walls or…OH CRAP VANYA!  YOUR ARM!”

“My what?” Vanya took a moment before she realized the still quite-obvious dark mess of dried blood on her right arm where the arrow had hit her nearly an eternity earlier, her already threadbare dress quite dramatically torn at the spot.  She was so focused on Five, she nearly forgot.  “Oh…right…” She wished Klaus hadn’t mentioned it.  Now she was noticing the pain again.

She heard Diego and Five both mutter curse words simultaneously as they realized they had forgotten the obvious, too.  “Well look around, he’s got to have _something_ useful down here,” Diego grumbled.

“Yeah, well, be careful,” Five cautioned in a way that sounded like an order.  “We don’t know what’s down here, and we can’t get too complacent to think the assassins won’t come.”

With that, they all started looking for…something.  Vanya tried to help too, but she didn’t know what half this stuff was and neither did anyone else.  All she needed was a rag, maybe some water to clean the wound.  She knew some medicine, but most of this stuff was magic, and that, she never knew.  Allison had once tried to teach her.  She practiced some dark magic spells, but soon, it was clear she just couldn’t do it right.  Vanya still remembers pushing herself too hard that one day, and as a result, feeling sick for hours, her skin a deathly pale, dark circles under her eyes.  Allison, understandably freaked out by the reaction, stopped trying after that, and Vanya was glad to stop.  It felt wrong, killing small creatures for magic, and it made her feel nauseous at the thought of it.  But it wasn’t like she saw Allison as bad because of that.  She was just more…accustomed to it, having been picked as Lord Hargreeves’s apprentice at the age of eight.  Hargreeves, hard as he was, became something like a father to her, and why wouldn’t he be?  She was an orphan.  Nearly all of them were, since the Great War.  Allison’s father was a general.  Both of Klaus’s parents were foot soldiers.  Ben’s mother was a medic.  All are now dead.  For other reasons, as well, many of them had not much family to speak of.  Diego and Luther alone had both parents, and she was sure that Diego, at least, could very much do without having his father.  One thing was clear, though.  Lord Hargreeves, though second-in-command of the kingdom, very much ruled this castle.  They all, growing up and even now, knew his presence very well, and he was, among other things, as smart as he was powerful.

She didn’t think that anything here would help.  The lab and study complex was a dark and strange place, and if Five didn’t want out, Vanya was feeling like she might soon want to.  But at least here they were safe.  She stepped into a small side room, taking a look at the bookshelf, hearing a few unfortunate sounds of crashes as her friends shoved through the storage spaces without much of a care.  On her part, she just tried to quietly look through the vials.  No, didn’t look like there was much there…perhaps she could…

She stopped.  The bookshelf forgotten, her eyes fell right to the side of it, where an old chest sat alone…with a sharp blue glow emerging from its edges.  She stepped back and peered at it.  What was that?  Her reason screamed at her to back away and let it alone; dark magic was dangerous, and she of all people shouldn’t be touching it.  But this didn’t feel like that.  It didn’t feel like dark magic.  It wasn’t colored a sickly green or purple like most potions.  But what was it?

She came closer and crouched.  It was an old wooden chest, and it offered a bit of resistance when she tried to open it, but it wasn’t actually locked, so the lid did, in fact, open.  Vanya’s eyes went wide.  Light burst from the inside, bright and blue, from the chest’s one singular content…

“Guys!  You need to see this!”

She didn’t know what it was.  But she had a feeling.  She held the sight in breathless wonder, and waited as she heard the footsteps come.

She felt Klaus’s presence emerge behind her.  “Dang…that is one big disco ball…”

“Klaus, that’s an egg!”

In moments the four of them were clustered around the open chest, their mission for the moment forgotten.  It was…beautiful.  Vanya blinked again.  How?  How was this here?  And what was it?  It felt important, but she had no reason to believe that.  She could only stare at its wonderful, colorful, crystalline array.  If this was an egg, it was _huge_.  So what would possibly lay it except…? 

Five shoved his way to the front, peering at it for a heartbeat of pure amazement.  “That’s the Dragon Egg.”

Diego blinked at him.  “Wait, the _what_!?”

“You heard me!” Five snapped back.  “I know it when I see it!  _That’s_ it! That’s _the_ egg!”

Vanya shook her head quickly, blinking her eyes as the reverie got broken, and the screaming, confusing reality took hold.  Somehow, her gut felt that the assessment was absolutely right, but yet, it still didn’t make any sense.  “Wait…I thought it got destroyed?”

Five bit his lip.  “Yeah, apparently not.”

“Then what the heck— how!?” Diego exclaimed, his eyes still fixated on the glowing egg.  “I was _there_!  What did they do— _keep_ it?”

Five glanced back at all three of them.  “Well, did you _see_ it get destroyed?”

Klaus shook his head thoughtfully.  Diego in quicker fashion did the same.  “No.  But I don’t get it—why _keep_ it?  What is this?  Some sick trophy or something?”

“Ha, more like an experiment, I’m guessing,” Five retorted bitterly.

Vanya grimaced but said nothing.  She, too, was shocked to see the infamous Dragon Egg here, having presumably existed for five years right underneath their feet.  However, she was naturally less surprised as to not having been in the know about it.  People just didn’t generally tell her things; they had no need.  And she was on the sidelines of the battle that day, so of course, she saw nothing of importance.  However, this particular matter did bring quite an uncomfortable thought.  Did Allison know about the egg?  She was Lord Hargreeve’s apprentice…she was down here all the time.  But, it just didn’t seem to fit.  She wouldn’t hide things like this.  Would she?

“This is ridiculous!  How many things are they hiding from us!?”  Gaze broken, Diego was pacing now.  Vanya understood the feeling.  This was really…a _lot_ , for one night.

“A fake death.”  Five shook his head knowingly.  “Well, this stunt sure is doing you no favors.  Not that the elves weren’t already prejudiced against the humans, of course.  But heartlessly killing the unborn baby dragon whose egg can only be birthed every one thousand years?  Hmmm, yes, that is cold.”

“Thank you, Five,” Diego responded icily.  “How very _helpful._ ”

“Hey, it’s not _my_ fault the human race keeps trying to kill itself.”

“The ‘human race’?” Diego echoed with eyebrows raised.  “Is _that_ how it is now?  Then which one are you, Five?  Human or elf!?”

“Obviously, _neither_!” Five spat back harshly, stringing up Vanya’s nerves in the process.  Oh no.  Not now.  She couldn’t deal with this…

“Guys, stop!” Vanya attempted to intervene.  “This is…shocking, I know.  But can we not fight about it!?”

Diego gestured emphatically to the open chest in response.  “Then what are we supposed to _do_ with this!?”

“Well…”

Klaus’s voice emerged from the back, eliciting, for once, everyone’s attention in a heartbeat.  Vanya didn’t realize until now that he hadn’t actually said anything yet.  Which was different, for sure.  His face looked actually thoughtful, but it was also lit with just the faintest hint of amusement.

“What if we take the egg, and return it?”  He shrugged lightly, as if that was, indeed, the most obvious solution in the world.

The three of them stared at him.  “ _Return_ it?” Diego echoed.

Klaus’s face turned up in a half-smile.  “Yeah, sure.  The egg is here, right?  Now that it’s not dead, we could just take the poor unborn baby dragon back to its mama!”

Diego blinked in surprise, but he didn’t exactly shoot the idea down.  “Take it?  Just like that?  You want to take this egg—the one, mind you, _we_ technically fought to steal—and lug it all the way to the border?  And for what?  Because it’s the ‘right thing to do’ or something?”

“Yep, pretty much.”  Klaus stood back, his face taking on a grin of mischief which alone could have caught Vanya’s attention.  She knew that look.  It was the ‘I have a stupid idea and I know it’s stupid but you should try it’ look.  It felt it had been years since she saw that on him, but she remembered it, all the same.  It felt right, somehow.

Five shook his head.  “If anyone’s stealing this thing back, it should be me.  I know the area, and I’m faster than you.  I should be the one to take this on.”

“Seriously?” Diego gestured strongly back to Five.  “You really want to go through human territory _alone_?”

“I can handle it!” Five protested.  “And besides, I’m already an outlaw, remember?  _You_ guys aren’t!  Would you seriously consider throwing away your lives here?  For an _egg_?”

“Hey, well, hate to break it to you, our lives kind of suck anyways!”  Klaus accented with a bitter laugh.  “It’s not the only reason, I promise, but I, for one, would absolutely _love_ to piss off my superiors.”

“Yeah, Klaus is right!” Diego asserted with all of the force of the odd occasion that was he and Klaus’s agreement.  “I really _don’t_ care!  So that’s it!  If we go, _we’re_ coming with you!”

He pointed, specifically, to himself and Klaus, which in a heartbeat, spurred Vanya to action.  She didn’t even have the proper time to think about it.  She just said it.  “If you’re going, I’m coming with you,” she said with a forcefulness that surprised even herself.

Diego looked shocked as well.  “But Vanya, you…”

“I can’t fight or do magic, I know,” she quickly finished his statement for him.  “And I don’t want to slow you down.  But I really _should_ go.”  She stopped for a second, admittedly searching to come up with a good reason.  She did have one, though.  “I’d be a liability if I stay.  I know too much, and Lord Hargreeves knows too much dark magic.  He’ll get the information out whether I want to or not.”  It was true, she was sure.  She really didn’t know that much about dark magic, but she did it was a dangerous thing to be on the wrong side of.  He could make her speak.  He could find out where she was.

“And…I have learned a lot as a medic,” she continued, calling back what limited experience she had working with those people in wartime.  Her voice was smaller now, as she didn’t know exactly what she was doing with herself in this situation, but she went this far, so she would continue.  “I could help you.  If you get hurt, that is.”  She had done it before.  Not entirely by herself, admittedly.  But she did do that, and hopefully, they remembered it.  “I promise, I’ll do what I can.  But you’re not leaving without me.”  She wasn’t staying here.  

Five, Diego, and Klaus looked at each other, with varying levels of certainty.  Then, Klaus just laughed.  “Wow, all these hypotheticals!  Does this mean we’re going?”

Nobody said ‘no’.  Five just sighed.  “We’re all going to get ourselves killed.”

“Well, we might be bound to do that anyways,” Diego remarked darkly, and unfortunately, Vanya wondered if it was true.  If the elves were sending assassins, that meant they might be just getting prepared to move.  Their kingdoms could soon be at war again.  And again, they would be the ones fighting it, because they belonged to Katalis and that was their job.  Vanya wondered if bringing back the Dragon Egg would change things.  She doubted it would.  It wouldn’t be enough to end the war.  However, it might, just simply, be the right thing to do.

“We should probably leave tonight,” Vanya suggested.  “It’s…it’s probably still chaotic up there.”

Klaus nodded.  “Yeah, you got that right!”

She nodded back, but still, unfortunately, felt a certain knot in her stomach all the same, as she thought about the reality of disappearing.  “We can’t tell Luther and Allison, can we?”

Diego shook his head firmly.  “And still avoid Hargreeves?  No.  That’s just not possible.”

Five nodded, his lips tight as he stared at them, and back at the egg.  Then, the tension released, and once more, he broke into a smile.  “So?  Who wants to be the first to carry it?”

**Author's Note:**

> Well...that was a thing! A bit of a random fusion, perhaps. Which...it was. This actually started as something out of a game, funny enough, but I was so intrigued with the concept, I decided to write it. Had a lot of fun with it. Hopefully, since you made it this far, you got some interest in it, too. So, consider this a TUA Fantasy AU, of sorts. It's set in the world of Dreamworks' Netflix series The Dragon Prince, but the story and setting is a little different. Darker, perhaps. Well, for one thing, the king and prince I made nothing like canon--they are unimportant except that they were implied to be kind of jerks or whatever, but hey, they're dead now. Perhaps the important thing, though, is that we're dealing with the characters as adults. I was a little unclear with the ages in this--I'm kind of going with mid-twenties for all of them. A little younger than canon, but made this way to best fit the timeline. And...they fought in the war. Yep. Very traumatic. Like what Klaus went through, except all of them! Kind of taken off of the Dragon Prince timeline, the first big battle, the one where they beat the magma monster, among other things, took place when they were young kids, about 6-8. The second battle where they deliberately fought and killed the Dragon King was ten years later, when the not-Hargreeves were old enough to be part of the action...unfortunately. So yeah, sadly, I did keep with canon in killing Ben. It was too thematic to pass up. But don't worry! He'll get a chance to show up later *wink wink*
> 
> But anyhow, things. Some of you, at this point, might have clicked for TUA and are wondering what the heck's a Dragon Prince, so don't worry, I'll try to world-build best I can. I understand this chapter kind of dived headfirst into the action, but I will aim to backtrack some more later. All you need to know for now is that the continent is split in half between the humans and elves; they don't like each other; and the humans are divided into 5 kingdoms that sometimes fight but will absolutely band together to beat up the elves and other magic things. Elves can do elemental magic; humans can do dark magic. That's a complicated mess that will come up later.
> 
> So...parallels? Daddy Hargreeves is taking the role of Lord Viren in this one, so yeah. Diego and Luther are his sons; they're the only ones actually related in this bunch. Allison is Hargreeves's chosen apprentice; Klaus, Five, and Ben grew up as lower classes; and Vanya has the awkward privilege of being the king's illegitimate daughter. She kind of just existed. As for Five, yes, I will certainly explain why the heck he's half-elf, and why his name is still 'Five'. As might be evident, he sort of takes the role of Rayla in this story, except that he actually has history with the rest of them and is an assassin who actually *has* killed people. But of course, the story shall take on a flavor of its own. My four questers all have their own reasons for going with this--they're not quite so naive as to think this will bring peace, but they'll go for it, all the same. Diego just wants to shove it in his father's face. But they'll develop, all of them. And don't worry, Allison and Luther will make their appearance in this story too, next chapter ;)
> 
> So anyways...if you have any questions, please let me know! Hope you enjoy! My plan, as of now, is to make this a slighter shorter fic, about 10-15 chapters or so, but leave it open-ended enough to make a sequel, just a tad bit on the inconclusive side. But, well, we'll see! Please let me know what you think!


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